Milk-bottle stopper.



A. HOPKINS.

MILK BOTTLE STOPPER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY22,1913.

1 ,1 08,842, Patented Aug. 25, 1914.

Uz'fizeasea: 1 72 zfcntor:

of- Boston,-;i ntl-ieeounty of Sutfolk and State UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

ALFRED Horxms. or BoSfmN, MASSACHUSETTS, AS'S-IGNOR 'ro' INNOVATION ers-'CIALTY comamr, A COPARTNEBYSHIP cons s'rms or ALF-BED HOPKINS, SAMUELsmons, aim JOHN G. mom'rum, F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MILK-BOTTLE STOPPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 25, 1914.

Appllutlen am m 22', 1913. Serial No. 769,261.

T cell whom it may concern a Be it'knownthat I, Amman moraine, a citizenof the-United'States, and a resident oi -Massachusetts; ha vein'v-ente'doertain new and (useful "Improvements in Milk-Bottle StoppergfofA'vl-iclrthe following 18 8 speci- This invention heritag aiz'stopper formeio isare netea; a niilk sue-nestles neck having a flat annular seatfdra cap composed of apaper disk, a nd ,an inner wall surroundi'ngTtieseemed ofgreater (lla ncter than the latter.

r or its provide f a stopper inserted in .the hottle nerk. in place ofthe paper pap, and to forlnan outlet thfoughwhich the contents of thebottle inay hepoured, the stopper being normally closed to "prevent theentrance of dust. insets, ete,v into the bottle.

The invention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed todescribe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings:--'Figure 1 represents a top plan view of amilk bottle stopper embodying my invention. Fig.

v2 represents a section on line '2-2 of Fig. 1.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, (1 represents the neck of a milk bottle having a flatannular seat I; for a paper cup, and an inner wall (I sursounding theseat. said wall being usually slightly tapering so that its upper edgeoveris e ea to a slig xtenty improved stopper is adapted to, bear on theseat I, and to form a liquidtignt joint with the interior of the bottleneck, and also to permit the contents of the bottle to pass through itwhen the bottle is held in pouring position.

e stopper is composed of a cylindricalmay be a suitably formed band ofelastic rubber sprung upon thetlange l4 and bearing upon the side andedgeof said flange, as shown by Fig. The norinal thickness of thepacking ring is such thatwhen the stopper 18 inserted in: tlie llottleiieck,-gthe-portion'of the ack in g ring ihtrposed between theouter 0t go of the-flange l4 ii-nd the' wall 11 1scompressed-and thus=oat-usedto for-n a liquid-tight joint, and at thesame l'llIl'GOX ert afriotiom'il hold onjth'ej\vall ld (it-sufficient strength to pre entthe'stoppe'r from dropping from the necki wheir'the bottle is held in acuring position.

The'pae'in'g carried hy tz hfl iin jji'ro jects outwardly so that'invl'ill 'notionly seat against the shoulder or bottom b, of the-re cessin the top of the neck'of'thelmtle, butalso bears against the annularwall def said recess. The seating; 'a' ainst the'diottom-or shoulder baccurately elines thepropor position of the entire stopperdevice.'andalso provides the main barrier against' escape of the liquid,excepting through the spout hereinafter described, while the seatingagainst the wall d is ample to prevent-accidental separation of thedevice from the bottle. but at thesame time permitting the device to beremoved for cleaning and: transferring to another bottle, without theemployment of any implement for efl'ecting'the removal.

The stopper also inclndes a head 15' editably joined to or formed withthe outer end portionof the body 12. a pouringmperture and a movableclosure therein being pouring position. its contents will enter thestopper and assthrough its urin orifice. The outflow however will beimitet because the head 15, which is. of course. immovable. extendslaterally across a large portion of the horizontal area of the body 12so that said head prevents excessive outflow of the milk or cream incase the bottle is tilted too far or too suddenly. Preferably the head15 is inclined as illustrated in Fig. 2, therefore directing a betteroutflow through the pouring orifice. and also enabling the stopperto bemore readily washed out internally.

In the embodiment of my invention here shown, the body portion of thestopper is provided with a spout l6. and the head 15 terminates at theinner end of the spout.

bottle is returned to upright position after A lid or cover 1'1 isconnected by a hinge 18 with the head 15, said lid being adapted to beclosed on the upper edge of the spout, as shown by full lines in Fig.2,and to be raised therefrom, as indicated by dotted lines. One of themembers of the hinge l8 is preferably provided with a stop 19 adapt edto limit the opening movement of the lid, so that the lid cannot remainopen by ravitation when the bottle is upright.

The spout 16, as shown in the drawings, is directed to one side, and isabove the lane of the to of the bottle, so that no mil can flow bacEunderneath the spout when the pouring, and therefore, there can be noaccumulation of milk to dry or turn sour upon the top of the bottleneck. p

The described stopper is to be inserted in a bottle neck on the seat I)after the usual paper cap has been removed. The stopper forms a closurewhich excludes dust and insects from the bottle, and permits thecontcnts'of the bottle to be readily poured out without the removal ofthe stopper. The stopper is provided with an air inlet 20 which admitsair to replace liquid poured from the bottle, said inlet beingpreferably formed in the body portion 12 at the side opposite the spout.

As clearl shown in Fig. 2, the internal diameter ot the tubular bodyportion 12 is substantially the same as the internal diameter of thebottle neck below the annular recess, and therefore, there is nothing toobstruct the outflow of milk when pouring, and nothing to preventtheflow of milk that has not been poured out, down through the neck of thebottle to the bottom thereof. In other words, there can be noaccumulation of milk inside of the bottle neck or the stopper, to dryand turn sour, excepting such as may adhere to the smooth internalsurfaces.

I claim 1. A bottle stopper consisting of two metallic members, a hingeand apacking, one of said members comprising a c lindrical body havingat one end an integral outwardly projecting flange and having at thother end a laterally extending inclined head to restrict the outflow, aportion of'the body being extended at one side to form a spout. theother member comprising a lid for the spout, said lid having a hingedconnection with the head, the packing being carried by said flange.

2. A bottle stop er consisting of two metallic members, a iinge and apacking, one of said members comprising a cylindrical body havi W at oneend an integral outwardly pro ecting flange and having at the other enda laterally extending'head to restrict the outflow, a portion of thebody being extended at one side to form a spout, the other membercomprising a lid for the spout, said lid having a hinged connection withthe head, and an elastic band fitted over the upper and lower surfacesand the outer edge of the flange of the body to provide a packing.

3. A bottle stopper consisting of two metallic members, a hinge and apacking. one of said members comprising a cylindrical body having at oneend an integral outwardly projecting flange and having at the other enda laterally extending head to restrict the outfiow, a portion of thebody being extended atone side to form a spout, the other membercomprisinga lid for the spout, said lid having a hinged connection withthe head, and an elastic band fitted over the up per and lower surfacesand the outer edge of the flange of the body to rovide a packing, thebody having an air in ct out of the path of liquid escaping through thepouring orifice.

In testimony whereof I have v ixc'd my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

ALFRED HOPKINS. Witnesses:

C. F. BROWN, P. W. PnzzE'rrI.

